Currently, there are various service alternatives offered by telecommunications carriers which attempt to complete a telephone call between two parties when the call is not answered for any number of reasons. In residential situations, a user may have a hardware receiver such as a telephone answering machine which records an incoming message for later playback. Software alternatives incorporated into existing telephone networks also offer message recording services for users. For example, AT&T, the assignee of the present invention, provides a service known as "True Messaging SM" which is available in most geographical areas. With this type of service, if a called party does not answer an incoming call, the calling party receives a message, initiated by the telephone carrier, asking if the calling party would like to leave a message. If a message is left, the called party is notified that a message is waiting when the called party picks-up their telephone subsequent to the time a message is left by the calling party. This messaging service has similar functionality to "voicemail", however voicemail is typically stored in a local platform whereas a service such as True Messaging is stored in a telephone switch within a public switched telephone network (PSTN).
Another type of telephone service is known as a "return call" or "call-back" feature which allows a calling party to receive a return call from the called party when a busy signal or a ring-no-answer situation prevented the original call from being completed. A disadvantage associated with this type of service is that the called party, after receiving notification that someone has initiated a call back, is not informed of the identity of the calling party. This occurs because the last dialed number is not always announced to the called party. Another disadvantage associated with the call-back feature is that the calling party wishing to initiate the call-back process must enter a series of user identification numbers. Moreover, the call-back feature is not available in real-time. In other words, when the calling party receives a busy signal or a ring-no-answer during the original call connection attempt, the calling party must first hang-up and terminate the original call before initiating the call back feature. In addition, present call-back services do not allow the calling party to cancel a call-back request once it has been initiated.
Telecommunication carriers also offer the recording of a forwarding number and a disconnection message. If a party changes its number and leaves a new forwarding number, a message is played when an incoming call is received notifying the calling party that the number has been changed. A disadvantage associated with this service is that the calling party must listen for and remember the new number, hang-up to terminate the original call, and dial the new number by initiating a separate call. Similarly, when a telephone number has been disconnected, typically the calling party only hears a message notifying them of disconnection. A disadvantage associated with this feature is that the calling party must terminate the original call, determine from which geographical area to obtain directory assistance if it is a long distance call, contact directory assistance to obtain the new number, and dial the new number if one exists. Often times the new number is not within the original area code, for example when a party moves out of state, thereby making attempts to obtain directory assistance in the original area code region useless.
None of the above described telephone services provides real-time alternatives in an easy to use menu driven structure when a busy, ring-no-answer or otherwise incomplete call occurs. As the number of telephone answering and messaging features increase, a menu system is needed to allow for easy access to a desired feature and to provide for future expansion of additional calling features.